Publishers: Don’t Sell Books, Build a Reading Experience!

Is digital reading the real opportunity or troublemaker for book publishers and their revenues? The book business has hit rough waters since the arrival of Kindle, and from then on, publishers around the world are working hard to come to terms with the new digital marketplace and competition.

If book publishers were to retrospect on what has changed the rules of the game, well strangely, it is the arrival of device reading in addition to print reading of books. These new digital-preferences of book readers have changed the core business value of book publishers from that of ‘selling of books’ to ‘building the experience of reading great books’ anytime anywhere.

1. Millennials addicted to device reading – Digital Reading Book reading is no more about just buying a book from a bookstore. Research says 84 percent of 12-to-17-year-olds will own a smartphone this year and close to 76 percent of 13 to 24-year-old is already addicted to their computers, tablets and smartphones. Digital reading is now the most popular reading behaviour. They prefer to access thousands of books online & compile a personalized eLibrary rather than stack bookshelves in their homes.It’s the arrival of these millennial book readers that are at the core of publishing business disruption. Reinvent your book publishing workflow to meet and delight readers on their smart digital devices.
2. Hybrid books with multimedia – Interactive Content Digital does not stop at just building pdf. Multimedia in eBooks has arrived. People are now habituated to visual interactive digital content experience in their daily lives such as videos, audio, games, animation, 3D etc. Does your eBook deliver the same experience, if not then chances of a reader losing interest in eBooks are very high.Passive text-heavy pages of a book are not enough to motivate millennials to get them to pay or subscribe. Embrace for an eBook-multimedia era to be able to deliver enriched interactivity-packed content that keeps them engaged enough to buy them.
3. Agile publishing – Cloud technology With margins becoming thin and printing costs on the rise, breakeven and profitability continue to be an area of concern in book publishing. Trigger happy indie publishers have created a glut in the market with many low-cost self-publishing route easily available to them. Cloud publishing is the enterprise counterpart for book publishers to help them in their price wars and augment the value proposition of traditional publishers. With a bouquet of customized software as a services (SaaS) to power fastest turnaround time in flexi-budgets, it is gaining popularity as an all-in-one digital platform for your end-to-end publishing workflow needs. It’s time for publishers to break away from the cost-intensive, straight-jacketed traditional container approach and get a lean and agile avatar with digital transformation.
4. Publishing for a global marketplace – Your own eBook Store eBook-eReader combination has been at the cornerstone of eBook success story for publishers. It has made device reading a common habit of millennials in the post-Kindle era. Today, a significant volume of book discovery, title searches, downloads, readership and sales for publishers is digital. Selling online should now be inbuilt in the overall sales and marketing strategy of publishers. Don’t get outdated with the speed of e-commerce and online marketplace. Build your own eBook store and start selling to millions of digital readers waiting to discover your book titles and authors- all in one place which you can call your own.
5. Reading in a multi-device world – Device-agnostic eBooks Mobile is our new found digital identity. It has become a norm of our everyday life – shopping, chatting, gaming, talking, making PPTs, listening to music, giving job interviews, watching movies and more. Reading books has also become largely device driven in recent times. Is your eBook designed for reading in a multi-device world? However, it’s not as easy as a cut-copy-paste of your print version. EPUB to Mobi, PDF to EPUB, HMTL5 ready content are few essential features for publishers to have before they launch their eBooks for a mobile world. Without these, your products stand disconnected to your customers today.

Even as current market trends in publishing industry are abuzz with the fallacy of doomsday for eBooks, digital has emerged as the biggest disruptor in traditional book publishing. With technology now becoming more of a way of life, digital is forcing publishers to reinvent their business for the millennial’s world. It’s time to measure the distance and fall in line.

We work with leading book publishers across the globe to help them on their digital publishing needs with interactive eBooks, branded eBook Store to grow their business to new markets, and launch international editions online. Watch our Agile Cloud Publishing in action in this video. Get a free demo and talk to us about your digital needs. We would be happy to help.